Part 5: The Second Reversal
Here the world is revisited in the light of the principles of the Garden. The guide for this stage is Shabistry (Chapter 61), who leads to the Spirit of Muslim Culture (Chapter 75).
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61.
Shabistry: In the New Garden of Mystery, the
reader is offered nine essential questions
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62.
The Museum of Slavery: The reader is shown samples
of art, music and religion of the slaves
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63.
Taj Mahal: The reader is shown an example of
the architecture of free souls
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64. Javidnama:
The reader sees a planetarium in the middle of the Garden |
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65. Déjà
Vu: ‘Prologue in Heaven’, containing
a parable about the theme of the journey to be undertaken in
Javidnama |
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66. Zurvan:
‘Prologue on Earth’ in which the spirit of Rumi
invites Iqbal on a spiritual journey in search of immortality
and the guardian angel of Time and Space appears |
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67. Vishvamitra:
On Moon, which is the first stop in the spiritual journey, ancient
Hindu sage Vishvamitra gives Iqbal his blessings and nine sayings
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68. Sarosh: The
angel who inspires poets appears before Rumi and Iqbal, and
sings a ghazal |
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69. The Valley of Prophets:
Rumi shows Iqbal the cryptic tablets of four prophets: Buddha,
Zarathustra, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon him) |
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70. The World of Quran:
On Mercury, which is the second stop in the spiritual
journey, Jamaluddin Afghani discloses the secrets of the world
of Quran |
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71. The Fall of the
Idols: On Venus, which is the third stop in the
spiritual journey, the rebirth of ancient gods is thwarted by
Rumi through recital of Iqbal’s poetry |
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72. Ta-Ha:
In a lifeless sea, Rumi and Iqbal find the doomed spirits
of tyrants – Pharaoh and Lord Kitchener – and the
spirit of Mahdi of Sudan comes to visit from heaven |
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73. Barkhia:
On Mars, which is the fourth stop in the spiritual journey,
Rumi and Iqbal come upon an inside-out world |
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74. The Enchantress:
The ideal world of Mars is threatened by the denial of love |
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75.
The Spirit of Muslim Culture: On Jupiter, which
is the fifth stop, Rumi and Iqbal meet spirits of Mansur Hallaj,
Quratul Ain Tahira and Mirza Ghalib, who were offered Paradise
but chose traveling. An interview with the Devil follows. |
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